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French Open king Nadal hails Uncle Toni after tenth French Open title

Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2017 by Willis Stokes

Nadal's win-loss record at the French Open, which he won on debut in 2005, now stands at a staggering 79-2.

Took his head-to-head record against Wawrinka to 16-3 overall and 6-1 on clay.

"You were too good", Wawrinka told Nadal during the prize presentation after losing in a Grand Slam final for the first time in four appearances. "But when I enter the court, I enjoy it and I appreciate [being] in the final of a Grand Slam here [at the] French Open".

With the victory, Nadal now has 15 Grand Slam titles, one more than Pete Sampras and behind only rival Roger Federer on the all-time list. Aside from Nadal, Roger Federer has dominated the Australian Open and beaten Nadal in the competition.

Third seed Wawrinka, having beaten world number one Andy Murray with a majestic display of firepower in a gruelling semi-final, arrived full of hope as, at 32, he tried to become the oldest French Open victor since Andres Gimeno in 1972. It was his 18th crown.

Nadal, who dropped to the court and covered his eyes when Wawrinka netted the final shot, saved the one break point he faced in the third game of the first set.

Nothing went right for the 2015 French Openchampion as he lost in straight sets to Rafael Nadal in Sunday's final at Roland Garros.

Rafael Nadal has described his 2017 French Open campaign as "perfect" after clinching his 10th title at Roland Garros this afternoon.

"For me the nerves and the adrenaline I feel when I play on this court is impossible to compare to another court. This is the most important event of my career".

3 - This was the third time in his career Nadal has won the tournament without dropping a set.

An unseeded player has not won the French Open since 1933.

"This has been, I think, a ideal Roland Garros for me", said Nadal, who dropped just 35 games in total on his way to a 15th grand slam title but his first for three years.

Rafael Nadal, who created history with the win, posses with his uncle Toni, who was also his coach.

"The King of Clay" built a comfortable 3-0 lead early in the second set, before Wawrinka managed to snap his slide after holding serve in the fourth game.

"For sure he's playing the best he's ever played, not only here", Wawrinka said. It has been very special to me, and it's true that it is unprecedented. Confronted with the match's first break point, 10 minutes in, he solved the predicament this way: service victor at 107 miles per hour (173 kph), ace at 117 miles per hour (189 kph), service victor at 120 miles per hour (194 kph).

Straw hats and fans were de rigueur for an expectant Court Philippe Chatrier as the final began with temperatures hovering around the 30 degrees Celcius mark - flawless conditions for Nadal's trademark monstrous topspin game.